Joy's World -the illogical and upside-down world of Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper: City's lack of internal controls, common sense, and finesse harms innocent citizens who DIDN'T do anything wrong; city waited until they were owed for 21 months of water/sewage -$14,588.42- before doing something -the wrong thing!; @MayorCooper

View more videos at: http://nbcmiami.com.

NBC6/ WTVJ-TV Miami video: The city of Hallandale Beach is preparing to cut off water to residents of a building on NE 4th Court over a water bill dispute. Residents Kenny Johnson and Terri Mammarelli and city spokesman Peter Dobbens discuss the issue.

NBC6/WTVJ-TV News

Hallandale Beach To Cut Off Water to Apartment Residents Over Huge Bill

By Christina Hernandez

Tuesday, Aug 7, 2012

Updated 9:24 PM EDT

Article at:

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Hallandale-Beach-To-Cut-Off-Water-to-Residents-of-Condo-Over-Huge-Bill-165344766.html

CBS4/WFOR-TV News

Hallandale Beach Landlord Accused Of Not Paying Water Bill For Years 

By Carey Codd

August 7, 2012 11:20 PM

Article at:

http://miami.cbslocal.com/2012/08/07/hallandale-beach-landlord-accused-of-not-paying-water-bill-for-years/

The Upside-down World of Joy Cooper: City of Hallandale Beach's continuing lack of internal controls and common sense harms its citizens -city waited until they were owed for 21 months -$14,588.42- before doing something -the wrong thing!

When you haven't been paid in three months, that's a hint!

Now, having waited so long to actually find out what was going on, they've let the owners get them over a barrel and city mouthpiece Peter Dobens now gets to play the PR stooge role he plays so very well:

There is nobody I know in Hallandale Beach who is the least bit surprised that the city has so thoroughly botched this.

If these HB citizens are forced out of their homes by the city on Monday, thru no fault of their own, trust me, there will be a LOT of news media there to record the event for posterity.

And seriously, why is there SO much reluctance by reporters Hernandez and Codd to to publicly name the property owners who didn't pay the bills on time after having been given the appropriate payments by their tenants?

I'm dumb-founded.

Frankly, this whole thing sounds so much like the way the city tried to recoup money it was owed for CRA loans, where last year, before he dashed out the door with a huge pension, former City Attorney David Jove was forced to publicly admit how feeble and unsatisfactory to HB taxpayers his efforts were.

I only wish that I could find the video I shot of it at a City Commission meeting so that you could see the whole sad exercise for yourself -his reluctance to do anything was galling.

It was his job!


see March 8, 2012's 
Disorganized files likely to lead to annual financial audit of Hallandale's CRA
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2012-03-08/news/fl-hallandale-audit-meeting-20120308_1_files-city-commission-audit

As I've written here so many times in the past, the work ethic of most City of Hallandale Beach employees the public interacts with daily leaves so much to be desired, that the City of Weston's model is looking better and better to me and others everyday.

If you are not familiar with that particular model, I'll be posting something about that soon and it will definitely get and keep your attention if you're interested in keeping city taxes lower.

#Olympics - Julie Foudy on the Englishman who wants to reward Fourth-place finishers at the Olympics with a medal, and is paying for them himself; Nightline asks Do you think there should be a fourth place medal at the Olympic games?; #London2012, @JulieFoudy, @JuJuChangABC, #Nightline

ABC News: ABC News Nightline Olympic correspondent Julie Foudy of ESPN on the Englishman who wants to reward Fourth-place finishers at the Olympics with a medal, and is paying for them himself; @Nightline asks "Do you think there should be a fourth place medal at the Olympic games?" August 7, 2012.
http://youtu.be/CRrHDK35AKI

Just more proof of why Julie Foudy is so very likable and reliable, besides knowledgeable and articulate -and unswervingly honest. 
Me, I'm a big fan of hers.

I think I'd rather listen to her than just about any other TV color commentator covering any other sport, except for Jim Palmer on baseball and Ron Jaworski on the NFL.

She was excellent on ESPN's Euro 2012 coverage from Poland and Ukraine

@Nightline asks "Do you think there should be a fourth place medal at the Olympic games?"
http://twitter.com/Nightline/status/233049579925426176

@JulieFoudy http://twitter.com/JulieFoudy
http://www.juliefoudyleadership.com/

ABC News @ABC http://twitter.com/ABC 

So very underwhelming! South America's cocky ABC countries flounder in London: After first 8 days, Argentina & Chile had combined for ZERO medals at 2012 London Olympics; ABC is roughly 250 Million people -result is one Gold Medal after first 7 days; #London2012, #IULondon12

TelegraphTV video: Argentine President Cristina Fernandez Kerchner: I thought Falklands adverts were great. June 27, 2012. http://youtu.be/Jg4nkllrNu4

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez Kerchner is like a very cocky and annoying cartoon character. Is she really that egotistical and self-serving, or... 
Yes, all the evidence to date appears to support such a hypothesis, witness this last week:

The Telegraph

British ships banned from docking in Buenos Aires

Ships flying the British ensign have been banned from docking in Argentina's largest province under a new law passed yesterday

By Jonathan Gilbert in Buenos Aires

6:20AM BST 03 Aug 2012

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/falklandislands/9448360/British-ships-banned-from-docking-in-Buenos-Aires.html

'To compete on English soil, we train on Argentinian soil': TV ad highlighting claim over Falklands filmed in Port Stanley 
May 3, 2012
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2138926/Falkland-Islands-London-2012-Olympics-ad-shows-athlete-training-Argentine-soil-Port-Stanley.html

The original video in question...

Homenaje a los caídos y ex combatientes de Malvinas

http://youtu.be/lSlyQp9NAoM

Yes, the video is STILL on the Argentine govt. website

I'd originally planned on posting something about the larger issue of South America's largest countries history of under-performing at the Summer Olympics in mid-June, even prior to Argentine President Cristina Fernandez Kerchner proving once again her inability to keep her more base instincts to herself.
Result, foot in mouth -again!

Hmm-m... what other female elected officials can I think of that have that same problem?

I had planned on wishing her Olympic team full of obscure handball players and synchronized swimmers good luck as the ABC countries of South America -Argentina, Brazil and Chile- once again proved that despite having lots of people and resources, they could NOT transform those advantages into anything more than under-achievement, while much smaller countries punked them in the medal count.

2011 Population estimates:

Argentina, <42 million="million" span="span">

Brazil, world's 5th-largest country, 195 Million 

Chile <17 font="font" million="million">

Total, roughly 250 Million people

Result: Number of Gold Medals after one week: one.

In fact, Chile and Argentina had not only actually earned less Gold Medals than IU students and alums in London the first week, they had earned less medals than IU student and French swimmer Margaux Farrell. http://www.iuhoosiers.com/sports/w-swim/recaps/080112aaa.html

http://www.london2012.com/medals/

http://www.london2012.com/country/argentina/medals.html

http://www.london2012.com/country/brazil/medals/index.html

http://www.london2012.com/country/chile/medals/index.html 

Oh, dear!

It looks like once again, Argentina is better at agit prop than actual performance.

Now we know why their athletes are shown having so much fun at the Opening Ceremonies

-unlike the athletes of many nations, they don't have the pressure of actually doing something worthwhile, they're just there for the fun!

Outside of soccer, nobody in the rest of the world, well, outside of South America, even thinks

about Argentina, and why would they?

And seriously, how has such a large country produced so very little of interest or value to the

rest of the world for so very long?

And from a larger perspective, while there are a handful of internationally-respected music and film stars from these three countries, why so few out of 250 million people?

Chile is over three times larger in population than Finland, yet Finnish consumer products and knack for marketing -Nokia and Angry Birds- have more tangible impact on U.S. consumers and business culture than anything Argentina or Chile does; I do like Chliean wine. 

In the 1980's, when I lived in Chicago and the most well-known Argentine most people could name was tennis player Gabby Sabatini, a banker friend who traveled a lot for business, esp. to international conferences, put it very nicely, in a way that reminded me of the national archetypes mentioned in Luigi Barzini Jr.'s various works.

http://ac-support.europe.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/naples/barzini.html

"Argentines think they're good-looking Italian bankers who must wear English bespoke and see French psychologists because of their own deep sense of national inadequacy."

Exactly

Even now, they're a country that's still has plenty of people who think their govt. did nothing wrong when it grabbed political opponents and threw them off airplanes over the ocean.

Maybe things will change there once all the people who could countenance that are dead.

New Hallandale Beach City Manager Renee C. Crichton will be guest speaker at 6 p.m. on Wednesday night at Comm. Keith London's Resident Forum meeting at The Village of Gulfstream Park, next to Krön Chocolatier

Oops! There's been a sudden change of location for Wednesday's night's previously-scheduled Keith London monthly two-hour Resident Forum meeting, featuring new Hallandale Beach City Manager Renee C. Crichton as guest speaker at 6 p.m.

I discovered this afternoon via an email from him that rather than being held at the HB Cultural Center as usual, it will be held at The Village at Gulfstream Park at 1240 Silks Run, next to Krön Chocolatier at the corner of Derby Lane, the middle of the three entrances off of U.S.-1, closest to Brio Tuscan Grille. http://www.thevillageatgulfstreampark.com/directory


View Larger Map

I'm printing this in case you have a problem reading the details of the screen grab.

Everyone,

IMPORTANT: please note CHANGE of DATE and LOCATION for Commissioner Keith S. London Resident Forum

The Commissioner London August Resident Forum will be August 8, 2012 from 6 to 8pm at 1240 Silks Run in the Villages of Gulfstream. City Manager Renee Crichton will be speaking from 6 PM to 7 PM.

The new location is between Kron Chocolatier and the parking garage entrance on Silks Run. Park on the street, or for free in the North parking garage. Attached is a copy of the Villages of Gulfstream Directory.

After both Mayor Cooper and Commissioner Ross held “re-election” events at the Cultural Center in 2008, the City’s protocol manual was changed.

Now, because I am running for Mayor, the City of Hallandale Beach will not permit the use of any City property, despite the Resident Forum’s non-political nature. In addition I have been doing these meetings for over four years.

Please see the attached email from City Manager Renee Crichton.

 http://keithlondonformayor.com/meetingchange/Com_.%20London%20Use%20of%20the%20Community%20Ctr.pdf

I’d like to thank Gulfstream Park for graciously allowing me to utilize their venue. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or if you require additional information.

Keeping you informed,

KeithCommissioner Keith S. London

Everyone, IMPORTANT: please note CHANGE of DATE and LOCATION for Commissioner Keith S. London Resident Forum The Commissioner London August Resident Forum will be August 8, 2012 from 6 to 8pm at 1240 Silks Run in the Villages of Gulfstream. City Manager Renee Crichton will be speaking from 6 PM to 7 PM. The new location is between Kron Chocolatier and the parking garage entrance on Silks Run. Park on the street, or for free in the North parking garage. Attached is a copy of the Villages of Gulfstream Directory. After both Mayor Cooper and Commissioner Ross held “re-election” events at the Cultural Center in 2008, the City’s protocol manual was changed. Now, because I am running for Mayor, the City of Hallandale Beach will not permit the use of any City property, despite the Resident Forum’s non-political nature. In addition I have been doing these meetings for over four years. Please see the attached email from City Manager Renee Crichton. I’d like to thank Gulfstream Park for graciously allowing me to utilize their venue. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or if you require additional information. Keeping you informed, Keith Commissioner Keith S. London

Phone: 954-494-3182   613 Oleander Drive Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 email: keith@keithlondon.comwww.keithlondon.com Political Advertisement paid for and approved by Keith S. London for Hallandale Beach Mayor, Non Partisan

Another part of Hallandale Beach City Hall's Dept. of Propaganda & Mis-information makes it official: Hallandale Beach Area Chamber of Commerce will NOT be hosting any candidate debates in the next 13 weeks before Election Day. Mayor Cooper doesn't want them to, so they don't. But they WILL host a free meet-and-greet for Mayor Cooper on Friday morning.

Another part of Hallandale Beach City Hall's Dept. of Propaganda & Mis-information makes it official: Hallandale Beach Area Chamber of Commerce will NOT be hosting any candidate debates in the next 13 weeks before Election Day. 
Mayor Cooper doesn't want them to, so they don't. 
But they WILL host a free meet-and-greet for Mayor Cooper on Friday morning.

They're very obedient and well-trained in that respect.
http://public.hallandalebeachchamber.com/events/


Neither is news to either me or to those of you who are regular readers of the blog, given the truthful things that I've written about them in the past -their longstanding failure to connect with average HB citizens and business owners because of their unwillingness to be truly independent; of the grandiose and patronizing egos of those involved, the same tired familiar faces who so love crony capitalism...


Yes, that and so much more explains the Chamber's outlier status in this city, where instead of a being a positive and independent force for good, they're content to be a sock puppet for HB City Hall and Mayor Cooper.


Yes, for the people I know here who pay close attention to what is going on, above-and-below the radar, the Chamber's willingness to roll-over and play dead rather than be the independent voice for Hallandale Beach's small business owners that it ought to be, is just more of their same old tired way of doing things.


What IS news to me is the following, which I first found out about this morning via an email from Mayor Cooper's opponent, Comm. Keith London. 


It seems that the Chamber will be hosting a Meet and Greet on Friday morning, the 10th, for Mayor Cooper -at a Hollywood hotel that's on both the cityline and the Intracoastal- the Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach at 4000 S. Ocean Drive.


Of course they are.
Conveniently so.
The Kessel Crew doesn't miss a trick to keep their favored position at the public trough.


Well, since this event is FREE, unlike other Chamber events...
http://public.hallandalebeachchamber.com/events/details/meet-greet-with-mayor-joy-cooper-1433
  

Your Tax Dollars At Work! The Chamber Does Not Work For “US”. Everyone, Three months before the election, your tax funded Hallandale Chamber of Commerce is holding an event exclusively for the Mayor. Please review the attached email. Furthermore, the event is being held in Hollywood, not in the City of Hallandale Beach. This event should include all candidates running for office in Hallandale Beach; or perhaps the entire city commission. Sponsoring a debate between the candidates would be appropriate too. Singling out one elected official, particularly so close to an election, is entirely inappropriate. Keeping you informed, Keith Commissioner Keith S. London

Phone: 954-494-3182   613 Oleander Drive Hallandale Beach, FL 33009 email: keith@keithlondon.comwww.keithlondon.com Political Advertisement paid for and approved by Keith S. London for Hallandale Beach Mayor, Non Partisan

When it comes to ethics problems in Joy Cooper's Hallandale Beach, and elected officials' attempts to evade responsibility, there's no sense like common sense, and CityEthics blogger Robert Wechsler has plenty: "An Interesting Agency Independence from Ethics Enforcement Issue in Broward County"

When it comes to ethics problems in Joy Cooper's Hallandale Beach, and elected officials' attempts to evade responsibility, there's no sense like common sense, and CityEthics blogger Robert Wechsler has plenty: "An Interesting Agency Independence from Ethics Enforcement Issue in Broward County"

I forwarded this to about 15O people around South Florida less than thirty minutes after it was first posted online a month ago, on July 9th, and thought that I'd gone ahead and linked and re-posted my email here, but over the weekend, I saw that I'd left it in Draft all this time, never having actually hit "Post." Oops...

Important reminder: more than three years after the city's purchase of property owned by him and his wife, Jessica, Comm. Anthony A. Sanders still refuses to publicly answer residents questions or explain what really happened and why the city was so eager to overpay for that property when they had no written plan in place for its future use.

Sanders clearly believes he can bluff his way thru to re-election in November.

Better late than never -and still 100% correct in his reasoning...

CityEthics.org

Robert Wechsler's blog

An Interesting Agency Independence from Ethics Enforcement Issue in Broward County

Mon, 2012-07-09 09:31

I've written about the issue of ethics commission jurisdiction over independent agencies and authorities, which arose in recent years in such places as Jacksonville, Louisville, and Palm Beach and Broward counties in Florida. The issue has arisen again in Broward County, in a different and interesting context.

Read the rest of the blog post at:

http://www.cityethics.org/content/interesting-agency-independence-ethics-enforcement-issue-broward-county 

With 13 weeks to go until Election Day, if you happen to see evidence in your part of Florida of the clumsy heavy-hand of Tallahassee lobbyist -and flashing red-light fethishist- Roger A. Pennington and his pals in an election campaign, please contact us!

With 13 weeks to go until Election Day, if you happen to see evidence in your part of Florida of the clumsy heavy-hand of Tallahassee lobbyist -and flashing red-light fethishist- Roger A. Pennington and his pals in an election campaign, please contact us!

We want to help shine a light on their efforts to manipulate, deceive and malign, even if it's far from our own poorly-governed and poorly-managed ocean-side city in South Florida, because we know instinctively that usually, but not always, more sunlight is the best disinfectant against those who wish to hide from public scrutiny.  

If you've forgotten who Pennington is and what he's about, I refer you to my October 30, 2010 blog post, The mystery man behind the pro-Alex Lewy 527 ad/flier attacks on Keith London; the multiple ethics rap sheet on lobbyist Roger A. Pennington

http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2010/10/mystery-man-behind-pro-alex-lewy-527.html


The fliers pictured here were part of his failed effort to defeat Comm. Keith London's re-election effort in 2010.
Because London is not only running for mayor in November against the past ten-years of Mayor Joy Cooper's ruinous reign, but is actually eager to publicize and discuss her awful voting record in office, her chronic bad judgment, and her truly contemptible personal public behavior towards Hallandale Beach citizens at City Hall, those of us here who are in favor of genuine reform and meaningful accountability, know that it's only a matter of time before the likes of Pennington and his ilk, as well as other lobbyist pals of Cooper in Tallahassee, make a return visit to our mail boxes via their slick, untruthful and anonymous campaign fliers.

We're all waiting patiently for the first sign of this new wave of mendacity, because Cooper can't win when the largest number of HB voters know the facts and the context, she can only win when if she can successfully obfuscate, deceive and malign -and the news media obliges her by completely ignoring what's right in front of them.

To paraphrase what I said in that 2010 post... 

Supporters of Joy Cooper and her Rubber Stamp Crew, past and present -William "Bill" Julian, Dotty Ross, Anthony A. Sanders and Alexander Lewy- live in a strange and perplexing upside-down universe where the laws of logic and reason that you and your family deal with everyday, simply don't exist. 

For them, a better future for Hallandale Beach's residents, taxpayers and business owners is a 5-0 vote on the City Commission.

A future where even less oversight takes place than now, if you can imagine such a thing. How do you get less involved than auto-pilot?

A place where reasonable questions are never asked, much less, answered honestly by highly-paid and often under-performing city employees, and a place where the Cooper Rubber Stamp's pals and cronies like Joe Kessel, Dr. Debrorah Brown and Joe Johnson can always count on their support in the future when they have a hare-brained idea that is laughed at and rejected by local banks when they seek loans there.

They act like your tax dollars are a pot of gold that was just unearthed and it's first-come, first-served, and they plan on getting as much as possible.

But when you're on the HB City Commission, because of the CRA's monies, it's like being a member of the Loan Committee of a bank, isn't it? The applicant's idea or plan doesn't have to actually make sense, or even conform to the existing city rules, which you can always vote to over-ride anyway, right?

No, it only has to get the majority of votes cast by the City Commission. Which is why the Rubber Stamp Crew positively HATES questions.
Because questions have to be answered.

It's precisely because of the crony capitalism antics and failures of Cooper and her Rubber Stamp Crew that  Broward County Investigator General John W. Scott and his agents came  into the picture within the past few months, where naturally, the three with the most to fear from more citizens knowing what they were routinely doing, thought they'd challenge his legal authority using your tax dollars, not their own.

Classic Bill Julian being Bill Julian -Why the rush at Hallandale Beach City Hall in 2009 to buy the Sanders property, with no actual plan in place for its use? Julian -"for the good of many, many people in Hallandale." Just NOT for the good of HB's own taxpayers!

Above,  501 N.W. 1st Avenue in Hallandale Beach, FL, the property in question. May 22, 2012 photo by South Beach Hoosier. © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved

An old friend named "Mr. Long-Term Memory" suggested I re-post this 2009 Michael Mayo column, highlighting the fact that the City of Hallandale Beach's money -your tax money- was placed in Comm. Anthony A. Sanders bank account SO quickly

Doesn't everyone have a good enough relationship with their bank that when you give them a check for hundreds of thousands of dollars, they put it in your account within 24 hours and don't make you wait?

"We're doing it for the good of many, many people in Hallandale," said Vice Mayor Bill Julian, who approved the deal with Cooper and Commissioner Dorothy Ross.

Yes, Classic "Bill Julian being Bill Julian" years before that temporary respite of his that lasted a few days that some of his supporters told us took place in the weeks immediately following his November 2010 defeat.

Sort of a like a very long eclipse of the sun.

Yes, here in Hallandale Beach, many of us who are very concerned about what goes on in this city have had the experience of having been told by a former Julian supporter that he was so down after losing that he was actually engaging in retrospection, something he never did while in office.

We were told that Julian now fully realized that he'd made some mistakes and told supporters of his as much.

Even told them that his biggest mistake by far was listening to Mayor Cooper too much and doing what she wanted, and voting the way she wanted, instead of being more objective, but that if given a chance, he'd learn from those mistakes "next time."

But then what happened once he said that he wanted to run yet again?

Yes, that sudden conscience of Julian's disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared out of nowhere.

So let me ask you, other than perhaps to a few friends and supporters many months ago, some of whom are now former supporters who've been "scared straight," when and where have the residents and taxpayers of Hallandale Beach ever actually heard Julian publicly admit what he'd done wrong in office during his many, many years on the City Commission?
Publicly explain why he was wrong?
Puublicly what, if anything, he learned from the experience of being a loyal Cooper Rubber Stamp that would make people want to give him yet a third chance?

I'll answer my own questions.

Residents and taxpayers of Hallandale Beach have never heard Julian publicly say and do those thing because it's never happened in the 20 months since Julian was forcibly ejected

from office.
He's still without remorse.
Meet the new Bill Julian, same as the old one!

----------

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

For one politician, Hallandale Beach's land purchase seems heaven-sent

Michael Mayo, News Columnist

February 22, 2009

The Hallandale Beach City Commission moves in mysterious ways. Take the case of Higher Vision Ministries and the Eagle's Wings Development Center in the city's impoverished northwest area.

At a hastily called Feb. 12 special meeting, the commission approved buying the church-owned property where the Eagle's Wings community center stands for $235,000.

That's $35,000 more than the city's most recent appraisal of the land (in November), nearly $90,000 more than the value listed by the Broward property appraiser and $190,000 more than the church paid for the land in 2001.

Considering the way the economy and local real estate market have been tanking, that's a pretty sweet deal for Higher Visions.

So who runs the church and the social-service center? Pastor Anthony Sanders.

The same Anthony Sanders who's a Hallandale Beach commissioner.

"We were supposed to do this two years ago, long before I was on the commission," Sanders said Friday. "Back in early 2007, the price was $350,000. This should have been done a long time ago, but the city kept dragging its feet."

Sanders, elected to the commission in November after being appointed last summer, abstained from the 3-1 vote. He said the price was fair, noting two other appraisals that valued the property at $275,000 and $230,000.

But one city-sponsored appraisal put it at $147,000, and the most recent valued it at $200,000.

Given the circumstances, Commissioner Keith London (the lone dissenter) said the city should have waited longer. Or at least had the sense to take up the matter as a clearly labeled agenda item at a regular commission meeting.

The land purchase wasn't listed on the agenda for the special meeting. It was brought up as "other business" during the session called by Mayor Joy Cooper on an unrelated matter. The meeting wasn't held in the commission's usual spot where sessions are videotaped, but instead was in an upstairs room without cameras.

"Does this pass the smell test?" said London. "I don't think so."

You'd think Hallandale Beach commissioners, who took a public relations pounding for engineering a pay raise in a similarly sneaky way a couple years ago, would have learned by now.

The city, through its Community Redevelopment Agency, has vague plans to build an affordable housing project on the block where the center stands.

"We're doing it for the good of many, many people in Hallandale," said Vice Mayor Bill Julian, who approved the deal with Cooper and Commissioner Dorothy Ross.

London didn't understand the rush: "If somebody said we have to buy this parcel by a certain date to complete a plan or it will fall through, then I could see doing it. But there is no plan."

I called City Manager Mike Good to get their version of events but didn't hear back.

Sanders said the deal closed on Feb. 13, the day after the special meeting, with the money already in the bank. The Eagle's Wings center hasn't been given an eviction date, he said. The center, which provides computer and other training classes and submits food-stamp applications for residents, was open on Friday.

"Is it standard to buy a property from a commissioner and then let them use it rent-free?" London said.

Sanders said London is grousing because of "envy."

"This isn't a personal thing," London said. "It's a finance issue."

Sanders' church bought the property for $45,000 in 2001. Eagle's Wings has received $130,000 in city grant money this decade, along with county and state contracts. The nonprofit agency's 2007 tax return listed income of $113,190 in government grants.

Sanders, a longtime activist in the northwest area, said the city's purchase of the property is "just a drop in the bucket," noting the $12 million the city spent to acquire land for a park in a better part of town.

Sanders has been critical of the redevelopment agency's stagnant efforts in the northwest. Two-thirds of Hallandale Beach falls within the CRA boundaries, including robust areas near Gulfstream Park.

"When the economy was up, we didn't do anything [in northwest] and now the economy is down and they say we can't do anything," said Sanders. "So when can you do something?"

Seems like Sanders' commission colleagues have already done plenty for him.

Awesome news! Yohanna to tour soon featuring Eva Cassidy-inspired songs :) - Sings "Is It True" and "Fields of Gold" on NRK2's "Allsang på grensen" and charms crowd in-between raindrops; Jóhanna Guðrún, @yohannamusic

Yohanna - "Is It True" and "Fields of Gold" on NRK2's "Allsang på grensen", Halden, Norway, July 18, 2012. http://youtu.be/D3w8cG93zyU
One of our favorites, the talented Icelandic beauty charms 'em in-between raindrops!

Awesome news! Yohanna to tour soon featuring Eva Cassidy-inspired songs :) - Sings "Is It True" and "Fields of Gold" on NRK2's "Allsang på grensen" and charms crowd in-between raindrops; Jóhanna Guðrún, @yohannamusic

The exciting news about Yohanna doing a tour that features songs that were staples of the late  Eva Cassidy, is absolutely fabulous news for both music lovers and longtime Yohanna supporters like me, as is the fact that Eva's brother, Dan Cassidy, will be part of the band, as he is here on violin.


If I play my cards right, I might even see her perform in person in a few weeks. 
If so, I guarantee you will see some amazing video and photos here on the blog! And on my YouTube Channel.


@yohannamusic  http://twitter.com/yohannamusic
http://www.facebook.com/yohannamusic



wroenn video: ABC News Nightline's Dave Marash's famous profile of singer Eva Cassidy. http://youtu.be/bXU219b3Zdw


This segment originally aired on May 25, 2001, while I was still living in the Washington area. 
I can still remember the night I videotaped it while sitting in the living room of the townhouse I lived in, with stories still floating in my head about her amazing performances from friends of mine who'd been smart enough to see her in person at various places around the Beltway.
By the time it ended, I was not only blown away by how well it was produced and came together, easily one of the best things to ever appear on Nightline, but even more profoundly regretful and sad that I'd never made the time I should have to see this amazing talent for myself. 
I certainly had plenty of chances to join them, but I always had an excuse for why I couldn't go: an Orioles ballgame up in Baltimore that I already had tickets to, film or dinner with my then-girlfriend, an IU or Hurricane ballgame of some sort on TV that night that I "had" to watch, or... 
And now I rue some of those choices and wish that at least once, I'd listened to my friend's suggestion and been able to see the magic for myself in-person. 


Posthumous Fame 
A U.S. Singer Enjoys Success Abroad -- Five Years After Her Death 
By Dave Marash 
http://evacassidy.org/eva/nightline.htm


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One thing is for sure and that is that NRK-TV could learn a few valuable lessons from SVT about how to broadcast a LIVE concert.


Maybe it was just the fickle weather since their LIVE coverage of the 22/7 Memorial in Oslo That I watched came out great, and maybe it's just my imagination, but compared to SVT's masterful coverage of Allsång på Skansen in Stockholm from every angle you can think of, this suffers in the comparison.


Granted, SVT DOES have more cameras to work with, including probably some robot cams, but when you look at the fluidity and variety of shots, as demonstarted well in this video segment of three very talented and popular performers from July 18th, it's like the final brick in the wall.



http://youtu.be/vnGFped5SEs


Above, Alexander Rybak playing Grieg's "I bergakungens sal" (In the hall of the mountain king), and then him being joined by Kalle Moraeus and Linda Lampenius for an acoustic version of "Stockholm i mitt hjärta," the prideful leitmotif that opens every one of the broadcasts during the summer. This is followed by Kalle singing "Underbart" (Wonderful) with the crowd and host Måns Zelmerlöw.


In the NRK segment at the top, honestly, it seems to me that there are too many crowd shots of people that look either distracted or bored, instead of some shots from behind the stage showing Yohanna and the crowd interacting and the crowd singing back to her.

Plus, while SVT always seems to anticipate situations correctly, above, NRK goes from a nice shot to one of a woman who seems to be nursing her baby.
I have to admit that I've NEVER seen that done at a concert, or seen a TV director thinking THAT'S the money shot you've got to get. 
Perhaps she looked like the director's wife, but still, very, very strange.


What is NOT strange though is uris1.
He never fails to deliver the goods with high-quality musical videos from Scandinavia and Europe!
Which is why I subscribe to his feed. http://www.youtube.com/user/uris1


No, that's not your imagination, his YouTube Channel really is framed by multiple shots of one of our favorites, Swedish singer Jill Johnson.


Jill's rocking version of "Jolene"


http://www.youtube.com/user/jilljohnsonmusic
http://www.jilljohnson.se/eng/

Variation on a beloved theme - "Nature Boy" sung by Nat King Cole, Pomplamoose and Alysia van Horik, as first performed in the 1948 American film, "The Boy With Green Hair"

matela01 video: Nat King Cole - Nature Boy (1948). Uploaded March 28, 2007. http://youtu.be/Iq0XJCJ1Srw



PomplamooseMusic video: Pomplamoose - Nature Boy - Uploaded August 16, 2009. http://youtu.be/LNpwBpZUrzk


Pomplamoose YouTube Channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/pomplamoosemusic


http://www.pomplamoose.com/


]
Apenijn video: Alysia van Horik -Nature Boy (with scenes from Moulin Rouge), Uploaded February 28, 2010. http://youtu.be/5BT9DZ27t0A. 



Alysia is a 24-year old singer with the Dutch band, A New Dawn.
Her personal YouTube Channel is at: http://www.youtube.com/user/Apenijn


Nature Boy -as first heard in the opening title credits of the 1948 American film, "The Boy With Green Hair" starring Dean Stockwell, Pat O'Brien, Robert Ryan and Barbara Hale. 
See video at http://youtu.be/B6ijXjjzKxs

Chicken! U.S. Mainstream Media circles-the-wagons, completely cowed, shows their bias by refusing to cover Chick-fil-A's biggest day ever, while others adroitly take the MSM to task for being so obvious about in their bias in news coverage: Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day is NOT what the MSM wanted to portray, so they didn't

Huge Support for Chick-fil-A Day
http://youtu.be/_IDvx-xkRGk

Just in case you forgot, since most local news media in this country conveniently forget to mention it in their coverage of this orchestrated controversy, Dan Cathy's position, i.e. of being against "Gay Marriage," is the same one that Barack Obama's had when he was elected president in 2008.



WallStreetJournalDigitalNetwork video: Chick-fil-A Will Survive Controversy in Short Term. Michael J. Casey of Dow Jones and the WSJ's John Bussey discuss the fast food controversy. Posted August 2, 2012. http://youtu.be/T2F5PmMFN7c

Forbes.com

Chick-fil-A Day Not What The Media Portrays

August 1, 2012 @ 10:35PM 

In case you missed it, about a week ago the CEO of the very popular fast food chain said “We are very much supportive of the family — the biblical definition of the family unit.” That comment started a firestorm for the chain.

The LBGT community began in full force to try to convince people to boycott the chain regardless of the fact that the popular chain doesn’t discriminate against gays as employees or patrons. 

Read the rest of the post at:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/derekbroes/2012/08/01/chic-fil-a-day/


The Weekly Standard
Mainstream Media Blacks Out Chick-fil-A Story?
By Michael Warren
12:19 PM, AUG 2, 201
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/mainstream-media-blacks-out-chick-fil-story_649234.html


Reason Magazine
The Misguided Assault on Chick-fil-A
Banning a business because of the owner's beliefs is a terrible abuse of political power
Scott Shackford
July 27, 2012
http://reason.com/archives/2012/07/27/eat-mor-liberty-politicians-misguided-as


San Francisco Chronicle
Token Conservative blog, 
Limbaugh: SF Mayor Ed Lee angrier at chicken than —
By Debra J. Saunders

Regarding San Francisco mayor Ed Lee

"Rush Limbaugh jumped on Lee’s comments by observing that the San Francisco mayor welcomes homeless defecating on BART escalators, but not a successful business enterprise. But then, City Hall always has cared more about scrubbing away unwelcome ideas than cleaning up city sidewalks, streets and public spaces."

Read the rest of the post at:  
http://blog.sfgate.com/djsaunders/2012/07/27/limbaugh-sf-mayor-ed-lee-angrier-at-chicken-than/

CBS News

Principle Over Profits For Chick-fil-A

By Stephen Smith

February 11, 2009 5:42 PM

CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann reports from Atlanta.

Video is at: 

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/23/eveningnews/main2207624.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;5